


Far from the Maddening Crowd

by Baneismydragon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bee!Chloe, Drunken Makeouts, Kissing, Multi, lots of feels, redemption arc, save me from myself, then I got on the Chloenette train, this was supposed to be fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 22:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10750812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baneismydragon/pseuds/Baneismydragon
Summary: “could you be anymore disgustingly couple-y? Not all of us are interested in voyeurism you know, and if we can’t all have kisses, it’s not really fair for you two to rub your little fairytale happy ending in our faces.”When Chloe lost her temper in a fit of jealousy, she never thought her friends would actually take her words at face value...





	Far from the Maddening Crowd

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OnRavensWing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnRavensWing/gifts).



> So for some reason all of my challenges lately end up being me writing something, hating it, throwing it away and writing something 10 times longer and more full of character growth and feels... hopefully you guys will like what I have done with this! 
> 
> The original prompt asked for an all girls class slumber party, drinking leading to fun sexy make outs, and 3 separate particular couples making out/hooking up. 
> 
> I think I managed to hit all the requirements even with the plot bunnies attacking me!

Chloe had brought it on herself really.

No matter how much time she had spent trying to learn to bite her tongue, every once in awhile she just couldn’t help it. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been stretching her niceness quota to the max today anyways. To celebrate their last day of lyceé, she and Adrien had pooled resources to pay for the entire class to go on a weekend getaway at the coast, starting with a mass sleepover (the boys at Adrien’s mansion and the girls with her here at the hotel) on Friday night. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. A feather in the cap of her ‘road to redemption’ as Adrien had taken to calling it.

She had not expected, when she had unthinkingly asked her father to make sure arrangements were made for refreshments for their celebration, that he would include a champagne fountain. She should have- after all it made perfectly logical sense that her father would simply instruct the staff to prepare their top tier catering package and arrange for it to be set up in Chloe’s personal suite. Her father had never really been one for personal oversight. Still, it ended up putting her in the rather uncomfortable position of playing babysitter to a hoard of tipsy, rambunctious, teen aged girls who clearly didn’t have her alcohol tolerance.

Still, she should have just kept her mouth shut. So what if Rose and Juleka had been extra affectionate from the minute they walked in the door? Who cared if they wanted to spend the evening cuddling and exchanging kisses in between bites of high end truffles and chocolate dipped fruits snatched off of the refreshment table? It wasn’t like she was jealous.

OK so she was totally jealous. 

Not of Rose and Juleka in particular, but of the ease of their relationship. No matter how hard she tried to focus on something else, she kept glancing at them out of the corner of her eye. Rose leaning in with quick energetic pecks, sometimes on the lips but sometimes scattered over her cheeks and nose and (as the evening went on and her aim got worse with each drink) chin. Juleka on the other hand was softer, more deliberate. When she kissed it looked like she was savoring each second, memorizing the taste of pink, and flowers, and cheerfulness. It made Chloe long to know what she herself would be described, if anyone would ever care enough to trace her lips with that sort of quiet ownership.

Chloe looked away from another round of accidental spying, her breath coming just a touch faster and her face flushing. Her eyes met Marinette’s- looking at her from across the room, where she was finishing some game with Alya and Alix, with a curious expression. It wasn’t an expression she was used to from her ex-arch rival. It was the sort of perceptive concern she had come to expect from Ladybug though. 

Speaking of things she hadn’t expected.

She heard a low throaty giggle and her eyes whipped back over to the couple perched on the edge of her bed. Rose had begun planting a trail of kisses down her lovers neck while Juleka gave a halfhearted protest, her arms wrapped securely around the smaller girls waist.

Chloe snapped.

“Oh for God sake you two,” she said, hoping her theatrical tone would come across more playful than bitchy, “could you be anymore disgustingly couple-y? Not all of us are interested in voyeurism you know, and if we can’t all have kisses it’s not really fair for you two to rub your little fairytale happy ending in our faces.” 

The entire room fell silent. She crossed her arms and pouted, trying to look as melodramatic as possible without backing down, silently willing them to see her outburst as teasing. Had she pushed too hard? Had her own underlying frustration been too obvious? She really didn’t want to have to run over to Adrien’s place and tear him away from whatever the boys were doing to help coach her through ANOTHER carefully scripted apology speech.

“So,” a very red faced Alya said, her face morphing from a look of surprise to one of impish delight, “what you’re saying is that we all need to start making out with each other.”

“I, that’s not…” Chloe sputtered her own face turning a bright crimson, though for an entirely different reason, “I never said that!”

“That’s what I heard,” an equally inebriated Alix chimed in, prompting a round of nervous giggles from Myléne and Sabrina. “Well guys looks like our host has spoken! Everyone needs to start making out immediately!”

“Ugh, you people are ridiculous,” Chloe huffed even as Alix gave Mylene a sloppy kiss on the check before taking a flying leap onto the king sized bed to give similar teasing pecks to Rose and Juleka.

“What’s the matter Chloe? Never kissed anyone before?” Alya teased.

“I have too!” She half lied. After all, her hundreds of attempted kisses with Adrien had to count for something.

“Then what’s the big deal? Let people have a little fun!”

“Guys if it’s making Chloe uncomfortable we should just stop,” Marinette pleaded, shooting a sympathetic look towards her that was somehow more infuriating than Alya’s teasing.

“The big deal-“ Chloe glowered, ignoring Marinette completely and glaring at Alya, “is that watching you people drunkenly slobber all over each other doesn’t exactly sound like the dictionary definition of fun.”

“Oh, shots fired!” Alix cried. Juleka and Rose gave an encouraging little cheer of excitement at the impending squabble, as Mylene and Sabrina huddled together whispering, no doubt nervous to see if this would dissolve into another of Alya and Chloe’s famous rows.

“Oh really?” Alya asked. She grabbed Marinette and twirled her into a dip, ignoring the small but not overly emphatic squeak of protest. Alya gave Chloe a quick triumphant smirk before leaning down and kissing Marinette full on the lips.

Chloe felt her mouth go dry, almost heedless of the gasps and catcalls of her friends around her. She watched as Marinette relaxed into the kiss, her hands coming to rest gently against Alya’s shoulders as the taller girl’s arms pulled her closer, arching her back and pushing her breasts higher. Their lips seemed to pull against each other, nibbling with a practiced ease that suggested that this was not the first time they had shared such an embrace. Chloe could feel her heart pounding, her tongue unconsciously going to her lips as she drank in the sight, her imagination trading out the soft white and pink pajama top and shorts for vivid red and black.

Marinette broke away first, gently pushing her friend back with a raised eyebrow and a quiet “that’s enough you.”

Chloe continued to stare, taking in the glowing affection in bottomless blue eyes even past the friendly admonishment. She yearned for the softness of those same pink, slightly bruised lips against her skin, and finally understood Chat’s odd desire to count each and every freckle scattered across her nose. 

Her trance was broken by Alya’s pointed cough.

“This seems pretty fun to me,” the blogger teased, earning her a friendly glare and a playful shove from Marinette.

“Can I go next?” Sabrina pleaded, causing a whole new round of giggles.

Alix immediately shot up insisting that she had dibs as Alya’s next partner, and soon the room had dissolved into a chorus of voices drunkenly trying to work out some sort of kissing round robin.

Chloe quietly slipped out onto her balcony.

She took several deep breaths, trying to steady her whirlwind of emotions.

She hadn’t expected it to come together so easily- for her longtime rival and, more recently, semi-reluctant friend to seamlessly slip into the role of her idol. She had thought it would be hard to reconcile the two girls being one. Yet here she was, jealous, and pining, for just a shred of affection from a girl who might never again even see her as a friend.

“Hey,” a voice called out from behind her.

She didn’t need to turn around to know who. She could pull Ladybug’s voice out of a crowd of a thousand now that her secret was out and the magic behind it no longer held any sway. Chloe didn’t say anything, her gaze fixed unerringly on the night sky, but she let her shoulders sag slightly as a sign that she wasn’t on the defensive. She listened as the soft footsteps came up beside her, her small hands folding around the railing next to her.

“We haven’t really had a chance to talk since…”

“Since the whole, I know your secret, you know my secret, awkwardly sit detransformed in a locked closet until Chat Noir rescues the ‘poor hapless damsels’? Yeah not so much.”

“Well we gotta give the poor kitty some sort of thrill now and again,” Marinette said with a shrug her eyes glowing warmly at the memory of their adorkable feline partner.

“Oh I know right?” Chloe snickered, “God he was so proud of himself, like coming to our rescue was the highlight of his day.”

“Could you imagine how he would react if he found out that he was actually giving lectures on akuma safety to his partners?” she laughed turning towards her with a mischievous smile.

The second their eyes met the easy camaraderie of Ladybug and Queen Bee melted away as the reality of Chloe and Marinette once again crashed into them.

“So,” Marinette coughed, “I guess Adrien was right about the us ‘actually getting along pretty well if we gave it a try’ thing.”

“For as amazingly dense as that boy can be, he is actually surprisingly perceptive about anything not involving his own life.”

“Yeah.”

“Look I…” They both blurted simultaneously, then laughed awkwardly. 

“You go first,” Marinette said with a wave and a small smile of encouragement.  

“Are we friends or enemies?” Chloe blurted out before she could stop herself. There went her chance of handling this whole conversation with tact and dignity. This was what came from her two best friends being a socially awkward weeb and a pun loving dork. Perhaps she should reconsider promoting Sabrina up to the rank of best friend. Even a girl who did nothing but agree with her had to be better role model than either of her two hopeless boys. 

“I would like to think that we are friends,” Marinette replied softly, dropping her gaze down to her hands. “I won’t pretend like this wasn’t a bit of a shock, but… I was hoping that we could figure it out. I mean, if you want to?”

“I want to!” Chloe said hurriedly, “I mean… it seems like it would be better… we are still on the same team after all.” 

“Right. Well good. This is good.” Marinette nodded, giving her another slightly forced smile. 

“Yeah,” Chloe said, leaning against the banister and trying not to let her disappointment get the better of her. After all even an attempt at friendship was more than she could have hoped for given their history. And it was unrealistic to think that their time working together as Ladybug and Queen Bee would immediately overshadow that. It was a start. And she could try to be patient. 

They both stood staring out across the city skyline for a few minutes. 

“You aren’t going to go back and join the party?” Chloe asked at last, hoping to either start a conversation to relieve the tension or to spur Marinette into leaving so she could sulk in peace.

“I don’t really want to spend the next half hour ducking Alya’s advances,” Marinette said lightly. 

“So kissing other girls doesn’t do it for you?” Chloe teased, trying to hide the small tinge of disappointment she felt at the words.

“It’s not that,” Marinette admitted, her face flushing a very becoming pink in the dim light, “it’s just that I am happy with what our relationship is. Alya might be attractive, and it’s not that I haven’t enjoyed making out with her before, but she is looking for different things in a relationship than I am, and I don’t want to give her the wrong impression because we were both drunk at a party, you know?”

Chloe let out a soft chuckle. “So Marinette Dupain-Cheng  _ is _ actually playing for both teams? I don’t know who is going to be more excited about this, Vixen or Chat Noir.”

“Oh, now you’re just being mean.” Marinette grinned, with such a confident Ladybug smile that it made Chloe’s whole body tingle. 

“You know I’m right.” Chloe snickered, reveling in ease and normalcy of their banter. “Man when you get them you get them GOOD. Ladies and Gentleman, the one and only Ladybug, everyone’s perfect and completely unattainable fantasy.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It is definitely like that. I dare you to look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t have your own personal harem of lovesick suitors, both in and out of costume.”

“It’s not  _ that _ many people…”

“Oh please, everyone is in love with you. It’s pathetic.”

“Not everyone,” Marinette said softly her eyes fixing out into the distance towards a still brightly lit mansion.

“Ah,” Chloe said knowingly. “I’m sorry, by the way.” Marinette looked at her a little confused. Chloe flushed, not meeting her eyes as she took another deep breath before clarifying. “I know I probably should have said this back when you were  _ just  _ Marinette and not… well… but I am sorry I tease you so much about your unrequited crush on Adrien. I of all people know how frustrating that can be and… it wasn’t kind of me.”

Marinette simply looked at her for a few moments, her mouth hanging open in astonishment before transforming into a contented self-deprecating little smile.

“Well to be fair,” she said, “I’ve been known to tease you about your unrequited crush on… well… me. So it would be pretty hypocritical of me to not forgive you.”

“Yeah, that was kind of a bitch move on your part,” Chloe said, and Marinette let out a short burst of laughter. 

They exchanged hesitant smiles, that for the first time that night showed no sign of being contrived. 

A loud outburst of whooping cheers caused them both to turn back towards the hotel. They peered through the glass doorway to see Alix and Alya, who apparently had both lost their shirts at some point, locked in a heated make-out session. Alix was completely off the floor, her legs wrapped around Alya’s waist, hands tangled amidst the brown and red tresses of her hair. Even in her intoxicated state, Alya managed to keep the smaller girl aloft for several seconds, before toppling backwards in in a cacophony of laughter and cat calling. 

“Well that escalated quickly,” Marinette said. 

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Chloe agreed, wandering over to the patio furniture and flopping down on the bench. To her surprise, Marinette sat down beside her instead of claiming one of the single chairs. They sat in comfortable silence, listening to the muffled sounds of the party inside and enjoying the warmth of the fire table that had been set up for their use for the evening. 

“Why did you do it?” Marinette asked, eyes boring into her. 

“Do what?” 

“Change. I’ve been thinking about it a lot the last couple of days and at first I thought maybe the whole you trying to be nicer was a result of you getting a miraculous, but then I looked at the time line and… well you started acting differently before that. So, what happened?” 

Chloe bit her lip, examining her nails even though she knew they were perfect. “Remember Triple Salchow?”

“Oh, god, that was a stupid akuma.” 

“Yeah, well, you had left me alone with Chat again after getting into a big fight about how to handle the situation.” 

“Yeah I remember, I wanted to go out after it and he wanted to stay and protect you.” 

“You weren’t exactly thrilled with me for having cause another akuma.” 

“I am pretty sure that was also the same day you  _ accidentally _ poured nail polish down the front of my new dress.” 

“Yeah… sorry.” 

“It was a long time ago,” Marinette shrugged, “so what made that akuma special?” 

“It wasn’t the akuma, it was Chat. He may have stood up to you about staying to protect me, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled with how it all played out.” 

Chloe watched as Marinette frowned guiltily at the memories. Even back then, long before she and Chat had become friends, Chloe had felt a little bad for the guy after the verbal tongue lashing he had taken for her sake. 

“So,” Chloe continued, “it didn’t take too long after you ran off for the claws to come out so to speak.” 

“He yelled at you?” 

“That’s putting it nicely. He pretty much spelled out in no uncertain terms that not only were you and I not friends, but that I was turning into the walking embodiment of everything you hate.” 

“Wow, that’s...harsh.” Marinette winced. 

“But it was true,” Chloe admitted, her fingers twisting into the hem of her pajama shirt. “After that I started to pay more attention and I realized, everything he said, every criticism and condemnation was completely justified. There was a reason you were never smiling in any of your photos with me. It was a pretty nasty wake up call.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“No you’re not. You shouldn’t be, I deserved it,” she shrugged, blinking back the annoying sprinkling of tears that had begun welling up behind her eyes. “If I had kept going down that path I would have lost everyone- you, Sabrina, Adrien… God Adrien was constantly upset with me back then. You might think he is some mild mannered angel, but he’s got a temper buried under all that reserve.” 

“So you decided to reform yourself?” 

“Well I kind of had to,” Chloe said with a hollow little laugh, “it’s not like anyone else could make me do it. But I’ll never forget the look of Chat’s face when he looked me straight in the eye and said ‘the only thing that Ladybug sees when she looks at you is an obligation.’” 

“Damn,” Marinette breathed. 

“Yeah. So I made a choice. I wanted to be someone that people wanted to save, not someone they had to. I wanted to be the sort of person that Ladybug would be proud of. The kind of person who maybe someday-” she cut off realizing that she was talking to the girl in question and not having another one of her late night therapy sessions with Chat. She coughed, embarrassed. “So I started making an effort. It wasn’t easy but I worked at it. Adrien helped a lot, and Sabrina was as supportive as she can be given how she is. Then one day I came home and there was my miraculous sitting on my dresser. You know how that goes.” 

“Yeah I remember,” Marinette agreed fondly. 

“After that it got a lot easier. I had you, and Chat, and even Vix when she isn’t being stubborn.” 

“I’m glad,” Marinette smiled, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Chloe knew it was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but just like it did every time Ladybug entwined their fingers, her heart leapt wildly at the intimacy. 

Apparently the universe had decided to reward her honesty with a heart attack, because before Chloe could say anything in response Marinette swayed sleepily, her head coming to land heavily against her shoulder. 

“Sorry, Bee,” she murmured as Chloe stiffened at the contact, “my head is spinning.”

“It’s ok,” Chloe laughed shakily, “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you with my drama.” 

“I think it has more to do with the six glasses of champagne Alya talked me into drinking with her. Knew they would hit eventually.” 

“Yeah that would do it too I suppose.” 

“So is that why you and Chat are so close?” Marinette asked with a fond smile, not bothering to open her eyes or move from her comfortable sprawl. “Because he set you straight?” 

“No,” Chloe laughed, “I just have a soft spot for cute nerdy boys.” 

“Ha, looks like I am not the only one playing for both teams,” Marinette giggled, half opening her eyes and giving Chloe an adorable drunken grin. 

“I never said you were,” Chloe huffed even as her fingers itched to run through the silky strands of dark hair pressed against her shoulder. “My type seems to be perpetually uninterested, which isn’t exactly gender specific.”

“You are welcome to trade types with me sometime,” Marinette pouted.

“Oh yes, tall blond and gorgeous, save me from such a fate,” Chloe replied flatly. 

“You are barely three cm taller than I am!” Marinette huffed indignantly before clamping a hand over her mouth. 

“I was talking about Adrien and Chat,” Chloe said. her face flaming even as her pulse skyrocketed at the implications. 

“Oh...right,” Marinette stuttered, her own face a brilliant crimson. “Chat isn’t my type,” she added stubbornly as an afterthought. 

“Oh whatever, keep telling yourself that and maybe someday anyone other than you will believe it.” 

Marinette deflated. “Ugh, what is wrong with me! I’m already in love with someone, I can’t go around crushing on my partners just because they're ridiculously pretty,” she moaned. 

Chloe sucked in a breath, wondering if any second now she was going to wake up and find this whole conversation was a dream. 

“I mean, it’s not like I am cheating or anything,” Marinette babbled probably more to herself than Chloe, “and it’s not like I was trying to string anyone along or anything. But you can’t help but think about it sometimes when your best friends are all gorgeous and flirting with you constantly. Besides it’s just a stupid crush, it’s not like I would ask either of you to be some sort of stand in.” 

“I mean,” Chloe said, drawing up every scrap of courage she possessed, “speaking as the crushee I wouldn’t exactly mind.” 

Marinette looked at her with wide owlish eyes. “But I’m in love with Adrien,” she said conspiratorially. 

“Yeah, join the club. I’m president.” 

“But wouldn’t it be taking advantage?” Marinette whispered, her face twisted in a charming combination of disbelief and excitement. 

“Not if you’re being honest about it,” Chloe said, using every ounce of restraint she possessed to keep from doing or saying stupid to ruin this unexpected turn of events. “Besides, isn’t this the type of stupid decision one is supposed to make at a drunken slumber party?” 

Marinette smiled. 

When their lips met it wasn’t fireworks, or trumpets, or any of the other cliches Chloe had always assumed her first real kiss would come with. It was the breath of a gentle sigh hummed against her mouth. It was strawberries, and sugar, and the subtle trace of champagne. It was bumped noses and bubbling laughter and fluttering hands that didn’t know quite where they were allowed to go. It was a kiss full of laughter, and warmth, and friendship so strong and loving that if felt like home. It was a kiss that held the promise of other kisses still to come. It was nothing like she had ever imagined because it was so much more. 

They kissed until the need for air became too much and they were forced to break away, blusing and smiling and basking in the thrill of their own daring. 

“So what did you think?” Marinette asked flirtatiously, a giddy twinkling in her eyes that made Chloe’s heart soar. 

“I think,” she said with a mischievous smirk, “that I can’t WAIT to see the look on Chat Noir’s face when I tell him all about this.” 

The sound of Marinette delighted laughter echoed out into the quiet night. 


End file.
